The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-05
RESTORED TO SANITY.
How Two Lunatics Unconsciously
Cured Each Other

! cured Eacn OJner.
Nere York Correspondence Cincinnati Enquirer
The increase in insanity in this city dur
ing the past few years is remarkable, and
the scientists are searching among dry sta
tistics and the history of individual cases
for the cause of the increase The asylums
are overcrowded everywhere, and the public
institutions cannot contain the number of
| patients who are sent there Formerly if
one case a week appeared it was thought to
| be about the average; now there is not
a day passes when the boat that goes
to Blackwell's Isl md does not carry from
| five to ten lunatics The lack of accommo-
datons for them has rendered a doubling up
| system necessary, and in two cases, at least,
! the result has been of decided benefit, and
| further experiments will be made in the
same line that may lead to some important
| changes in the treatment of the insane.
The two patients referred to have been
in the asylum for more than a year, under
the charge of DR.. Mcdonald. One of them,
THOMAS HARKINs,
| a mason and builder, is about 35 years old
! He was at work in a cellar about two years
| ago in house at Fordham when the place
| took fire. He tried to get up the stairway,
but was driven back by the flames and
smoke Half suffocated he crawled along the
| cellar floor to cstern, party filed with
ragged fiercely over him and he could see the
progress of the fire The suspense was ter
| rible. What moment the floor would give
way and precipitate the building ON his head
he could not tell The walls of
the cellar were of brick and
thus kept the fire from coming
close to him: and he lay on the water with
| his eyes fastened on the fire above, ex-
pecting death. The intensity of the heat
| was subdued by the application of water to
his head and face This became warm, but
fortunately never reached a temperature
that was scalding. 1t was over two hours
before the fire was got under control from
tine outside, and it was some time afterward
before he dared to leave the place of refuge
In these few hours he lived lifetime, and
when he was finally taken out of the build
ing and the strain was ended
HE BECAME UNCONSCIOUS.
Then followed a severe attack of brain
fever, and when the fever abated and the
delirium had gone his eye did not recognize
his family or friends. He had an idea that
they were all animals of some kind and
that he was a COW. The only way he would
take food was by telling him that it was
hay. As long as he remained quiet and did
not show any inclination to injure himself
or others he was treated at his home Final
ly he showed a suicidal tendency and was
taken to the asylum.
The other patient was jefferson Williams.
middle-aged negro, who had followed the
sea for many years as cook. He was picked
up in an open boat about thirty miles off
Cape Hatteras. The boat belonged to the
schooner John j. Ward, and it is estimated
from what is known that he had been float
ing around III the boat for twenty-five DAYS.
He was the only survivor. There was
dead sailor in the boat with him that showed
marks of having been visited by
MAN-EATER.
| Two others who were in the boat Jumped
| overheard, having become craZed by thirst.
| Williams was lying in the boat alongside of
| the corpse when he was found He was
| nearly dead from exhaustion There was
nothing to eat or drink in the boat save hui
man flesh. Williams was well cared for on the
| Old Dominion line steamer that picked him
up, and he was much stronger physically
when the vessel arrived here. Mentally he
was wreck, and aftersa examination by
the Commissioner of Lunacy he was pro
nounced incurably insane, and was sent to
the Island, where he soon showed desire to
end his life
Williams and Harkins were placed in
padded cell together. The only restraint
placed on them was strap that held their
hands firmly at the side. The barharols
treatment that patients of this kind FORMER
ly received happily is given no more.
| bHdlLlS, tIuDS, utIk CellS Jlldb were never
| cleaned, instruments of torture, as We'll al
bleeding and the administration Of Violent
emetics and purgatives, have all been abpl-
ished from the modern asylum, together
with the fiction that the insane are possessed
| with demons that deserve to be tortured
| When placed together each of the patients
was told that his companion was going
TO COMMIT SUICIDE.
There is nothing that pleases an insane
person better than being placed in charge of
another. While they are both violent and
dangerous, yet the fascination in watching
a lunatic completely absorbs the entire at
tention, and cat watching a mouse does
not exhibit the carefulness with which Har-
kins watched Williams and Williams
watched Harkins. Each one thought the
other was as crazy as LOOM while he him
self was perfectly sane. After they had
been together about month and had be-
come thoroughly familiar with each other
their hands were freed and they We're at lib
erty to do what they saw fit. Williams had
| q deluslon that his head was q metal ball
and he rolled it on the floor, taking his body
along with it, of course. His companion al
ways greeted this harmless amusement with
deriSion ANA a Scornful laugh, and would
| proceed to show some of his accomplish
ments. Being a COW, he was an expert at
buclIng, and would run at the wall hard
! enough to break his skull. The padding
prevented him from doing any harm. Such
an exhibition of levity would disgust Will
lams. They had several other accomplish
ments in their repertoire that they would
show to each other, all of which were man
| ifeStations of delusions of some nature The
effect on the mind of each was that of SYM
pathy for his companion, who was so unfor-
tunate as to be foolish, and unable to act
reasonably.
But with all their fun, the vigilant watch
was kept up all the time One of them
could not make move that the other did
not sec. They kept the motive of their close
watch secret, but in time it seemed us if
| both got an idea that each was the others
keeper. This was shown when
THE MORBID IMPULSE
that impeled TO suicide was coming ON.
| They would inform each other about it, not
in so many words, but by signs and move
mentS, and then they would sit closely to-
! gether AS the period of companionship be
came longer there was an improvement no.
ticed in their condition by the attending
physician. They ceased to fight against TAX
ing food, and had lucid intervals more fire.
quently. They took less interest IN bucliing
and rolling the ball, and days would pass
without either of them showing any insane
antics A feeling of interest sprang up for
each other outside of the performance of
duty, and they became friendly and talka-
I